Brought to you by the letter J

Dragonfly by Jayla Rediger - 11 yr old

J for Jelly Beans, J for jumping, J for JAYLA!

I am so excited to share this piece with you.  I have a little story to share, so if you'll grab a cup of coffee first, I know you'll be so glad you walked on this little journey for me.

"Why Jayla" you ask?

Because Jayla is a beautiful 11 year old aspiring artist that made the dragonfly pendant I've used in this necklace.  Yes, just 11 YEARS OLD!!!!  I first heard about Jayla's talents when I was reading her mom Melissa's blog.  Melissa operates Sea of Glass, a lampwork artist out of Iowa.  When her daughter wanted to take a class with her at their local bead store, Melissa embraced some special mother daughter time and signed them up for a polymer clay class.

Jayla was instantly in love with making the pendants.  From the colors and finishes to all the little add ons that make each pendant one of a kind, she was inspired.  After the class Jayla wasn't about to give up designing.  No, rather she wanted to turn her creative inspirations into a business.  Jayla continue to make her special pendants and Melissa created a section on her website called Jayla's Corner just for her to market her pendants.

When I heard Melissa was going to be selling at Bead and Button and Jayla's dad had created a special display to sell her pendants, I knew I had to get one (and meet Melissa too!)  I had my dear sweet fiance Chris with me (he was SUCH a trooper going to B&B and I'll tell you, he was amazed at the various artisans we met.  He had no idea just how many talented artisans are in this genre.  He's also still waiting for his T-shirt that said "I attended Bead & Button 2011"~ goofball.)

The second I saw this dragonfly pendant, it was mine... as in GIMME-RIGHT-NOW!!!  Her artistry in this pendant is stunning.  She even used a toothpick to paint the body of the dragonfly because it's a tiny area.  As an added touch, she created a flower with a bead cap and sparkly swarovski crystal center for that perfect finishing touch.

I love supporting today's youth because I feel like they are facing challenges much more difficult than I faced growing up.  But I also LOVE when I see parents taking such an interactive role in supporting their kids and fostering their creative spirits.  Jayla's Corner is available on Melissa's website, Sea of Glass and if you want to see Jayla's latest pendants as she creates them, I urge you to follow Melissa's blog too!

This is just the first piece I'll make with one of Jayla's pendants.  It was a pleasure pulling the colors out of the design and adding some additional sparkle with Swarovski crystals in the beaded necklace.  The necklace is currently available in my Artfire Store.  

I hope you enjoy the simple beauty and you find creative inspiration from the story of this very talented 11 year old girl.  She's got a great start to a very bright future!

{Hugs!}

Available in my Artfire Store